


The Frog King

by joeyrz



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Fairy Tales, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-09-14
Updated: 2000-09-14
Packaged: 2017-10-17 06:57:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joeyrz/pseuds/joeyrz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Frog King - X:WP style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Frog King

**Author's Note:**

> For the ANON –2 Challenge. Tham’s fairy tale challenge answer: The Frog King, the ancient Greek, slash version.  
> Disclaimers: I do not own any of the X:WP/H:TLJ characters, nor do I claim any rights to “The Frog King” by the Grimm Brothers. I’m not making money out of this. Original text of “The Frog King” can be found here: http://www.vcu.edu/hasweb/for/grimm/frog.html

In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings in the topmost peak of mount Olympus, stood the palace of the king of the gods, Zeus. His children were the most beautiful and powerful of all the known lands. But the most beautiful and powerful of all was the eldest son, Ares. He was so beautiful, than the sun god himself looked upon him with awe and jealousy, for he failed to compare to him.

Beyond the mountain there was a great, dark forest. The trees within never withered, never died, for it was protected and kept by the gods. In this forest, on a clearing close to the nearby city of Corinth, was a well beneath an old linden tree. Whenever having to put up with his demanding family got to much for him, Ares would take his sword and practice beside the well. Nothing relaxed Ares more than practicing with his sword.

One day, Ares had set his sword at the edge of the well while he took a drink of water. But when he turned, he accidentally bumped the sword into the well. He watched in shock as the sword kept falling and falling, until he couldn’t see it anymore. Ares began to shout, stomp around and kick the well, because without the sword he had no powers. And because the well was very deep and very narrow, he couldn’t go down for it.

As he paced there fuming over his sword, he heard a voice that called out to him. “What’s the matter, my Lord? Your shouts of anger could move even a stone to fear.”

He looked around to see where the voice was coming from and saw a frog sticking his thick, ugly head out of the water. “What do you want, you wart. I’m angry because I dropped my sword into the well.”

“Be quiet and stop your temper tantrum,” the frog responded. “I will go down and fetch it, but what will you give me in return?”

“Give you? I’m a god, I can give you everything and anything – food, money, jewels, clothes, this forest.”

“I don’t want food, money, jewels, clothes or this forest. But if you’ll love me and let me be at your side, as your companion and lieutenant, let me sit with you at your table, eat from your plate, drink from your cup and sleep in your bed – if you promise me all of that, I’ll dive down and retrieve your sword.”

“Yes, whatever. Just get it!” However, he thought, what nonsense that stupid frog talks. He just sits there in the water croaking with the rest of the warts. How can he really think that I, a god, accept him as a companion, least of all my lieutenant?

Once the frog had his promise, he dipped his head under the water and dived downward, and soon came paddling back to the surface, the sword’s hilt in his mouth. When he set it on the edge of the well, he laid back panting, for it was a heavy sword to carry. Ares immediately went to picked his sword, feeling the rush of power run through him. He started to shimmer out when he heard the frog cry out, “Wait, wait!”

But Ares paid no attention to him, and laughed as he heard the frog continue, “I can’t disappear like you do!”

The frog kept croaking, but it was of no use, the god had already left. Ares re-appeared in his temple on Olympus, where he started to plan a new war, forgetting all about the frog.

The next day, as he sat at the table with Zeus and the rest of his family, something came crawling splish, splash, splish up the marble steps. When it reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried out, “My Lord Ares, eldest son, open up!”

Throwing his napkin aside, Ares walked casually up to the doors to see who was outside. But when he opened the door and saw the frog, he quickly slammed the door shut and went back to the table.

Knowing that something had scared Ares, the king of the gods couldn’t suppress his grin as he asked, “Why Ares, what are you afraid of? Who was at the door, a Titan?”

“No, father,” he sneered. “It’s not a Titan, but a frog.”

All the Olympians broke out laughing. Finally Zeus stopped laughing long enough to ask, “And what, pray tell, does that frog want with you?”

“Uh – I dropped my sword in the well yesterday, he got it for me because I was really angry, but I had to promise to make him my companion and lieutenant. But how was I to know that dammed frog could climb Olympus?”

Just then there was a second knock at the door, and a voice cried out:

“My god, my god, eldest son  
open up and let me in.  
Have you forgotten  
what you promised  
down by the well’s cool water?  
My god, my god, eldest son  
open up and let me in.”

Zeus broke out laughing again and said, “If you’ve made a promise, you must keep it. Go and let him in.”

Ares grumbled all the way to the door to let the frog in. The frog hopped into the room and followed Ares right to her chair, where he plopped himself down. He cried out, “Lift me up beside you!”

Ares flat out refused until the king of the gods finally ordered him to. Once he was on the chair, the frog demanded to be on the table, much to the dismay of the other gods. Seeing the opportunity to at least ‘gross out’ his family, Ares put the frog on the table. The frog demanded to eat from his plate, and Ares pushed it towards him, at least a bit pleased to see a few of the goddesses leave the table a little green around the edges.

Finally, the frog ate his fill and said, “That’s it, I’ve had enough. Now carry me to your room, and get your silken bed ready so we can go to sleep.”

Ares was trying to come up with a plan to get the frog into his sister Artemis’ bed, since she at least liked animals, when one stern look from Zeus stopped him.

“You promised he would be your companion and lieutenant, Ares. Now you keep your promise to him or I’ll have to take drastic measures!”

“Alright, already!” Ares picked the frog up with two fingers and rushed out and into his temple. When he got to his room he let the frog down at a corner and turned to his bed. He made his clothes disappear and crawled into the soft bed. But just as soon as he did, the frog came crawling back and croaked, “I’m just as tired as you are, and want to sleep as much as you do. Lift me up and into your bed, or I’ll tell Zeus!”

That was the last straw, and after he picked the frog up, he threw the frog against the far wall.

“Now you can have your rest, you wart!”

However, when he fell to the ground, he was no longer a frog but a handsome king, with dark eyes and copper hair. Iphicles, which was the frog-king’s name, told him about how a sorcerer had turned him into a frog.

So, in keeping with Zeus’ orders, Ares took the king to his bed where they started to kiss passionately for the first time that long night.

And they lived happily ever after... until Hercules found out, but that’s another story.

The End


End file.
